Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Amazon Pursues Plogging Patent

Posted by Hemos on from the add-it-to-the-one-click-patent-trophy dept.

theodp writes "When it unveiled a beta of Plogs (personalized blogs), a nonpublication request Amazon had in effect prevented the USPTO from disclosing that Plogs were patent-pending. But now you can check out Amazon's patent application for the Personalized selection and display of user-supplied content to enhance browsing of electronic catalogs, which describes how 'blurbs' can be made available in a blog format for viewing by others."

4 of 110 comments (clear)

  1. RSS feeds :-) by CSMastermind · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Well I'm not sure if the patent will be approved as is but I must admit that I like to idea behind the service. Most notably I enjoy the RSS feed integration, that's something that more people really need to start using. As for the patent, seems alittle broad to me but that's why you need to get these things approved.

  2. This is why I'm still boycotting Amazon by jamie · · Score: 3, Interesting
    It's a pain to buy through other vendors, since typically their websites suck by comparison, but -- this is why I'm still boycotting Amazon. Even the FSF gave up long ago, but Amazon's patent-hungry approach still just seems wrong to me, and I don't like rewarding corporations like that.

    Amazon is really pushing its APIs to open-source developers and is trying very hard to become part of the open-source community. Jeff Bezos and Tim O'Reilly sat side by side at OSCON to tout how small developers could use Amazon's API to make lots of money. This worries me.

  3. We should patent the process not the idea... by vhogemann · · Score: 3, Interesting
    This way, for exemple, one should be alowed to patent the code to achieve certain functionality... but not the functionality itself.

    I think its more fair... Medicines for one, a Lab should be able to patent a process to achieve certain compound. But not be able to patent the compound formula... if some poor country find a way to produce the medicine, the Lab would not be alowed to charge for royalities... unless they're using the patented process to make the medicines.

    Take a look at the HIV case here at Brasil, the governament tried to produce generic medicines, to distribute among the population for FREE, but the Labs couldnt allow that, and sued the governament. When the Labs were about to LOOSE the case, they lowered the price of the meds to a fraction of the original cost, so would be cheaper for the governament to buy the meds, instead of produce them!!!

    What I mean is, patents doesnt suck. What is wrong is the way theyre used nowdays.

    --
    ---- You know how some doctors have the Messiah complex - they need to save the world? You've got the "Rubik's" complex
  4. Quick question by phunkphorce · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I am the leader of an open-source (GPL) effort to create a truly multi-user and multi-blog blogging tool built on PHP and called pLog. Even though it's an ugly name, it stands "PHP Log" and has nothing to do with Amazon's patent whatsoever. But the question is... Should we start worrying about this now? I mean, can we expect Amazon's lawyers coming after us because our project name and the name of their patent sound too similar? We've been in Sourceforge since June 2003 (if that counts)

    We'd like to keep our name because it's been our identity for almost 2 years now but we cannot affort legal litigation (being a free community effort, etc)